Elmira College

« Back to Recent News

Arnot Art Museum to Host Lecture By Dr. Mitchell

Elmira, NY (10/18/2018) — Elmira College and the Arnot Art Museum will co-sponsor a lecture by Dr. Charlie Mitchell, Elmira College Provost and Professor of American Studies, on the Museum's current exhibition, DANIEL REIDY: Raft of the Medusa. The lecture, which is Friday, October 19 at 5:30 p.m., is titled "Witnessing the Raft." Both Mitchell and the artist, Dan Reidy, will explore their own answers to the question "How do you turn catastrophe into art?" in a conversation with museum guests.

Mitchell piques the audience's interest with the following:

"I want to begin with a question posed by the writer Julian Barnes in his 1989 novel "The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters." The question comes in the middle of Chapter 5, and thus more or less in the middle of the book: "How do you turn catastrophe into art?" Given that Chapter 5 is a two-part reflection on Gericault's "Raft of the Medusa," it seems an appropriate place to begin this talk in the shadow (perhaps literally) of Dan Reidy's (and our) conversation with this painting. I will go on and draw on two other books that expand upon that question: Susan Sontag's On Regarding the Pain of Others and Linda Nochlin's Misere: The Visual Representation of Misery in the 19th Century. To "How do you turn catastrophe into art?" let us add the following questions: "Why attempt to turn catastrophe into art"? "What happens to our understanding of the catastrophe?" "What happens to our understanding of art?" There may be a few more questions to consider that pop up along the way."

The lecture is free and open to all. Reidy's exhibition closes October 26. Visit the Arnot Art Museum online for gallery hours.

Media Attachments

Elmira College and the Arnot Art Museum will co-sponsor a lecture by Dr. Charlie Mitchell, Elmira College Provost and Professor of American Studies, on the Museum’s current exhibition, DANIEL REIDY: Raft of the Medusa. The lecture, which is Friday, October 19 at 5:30 p.m., is titled "Witnessing the Raft."

Copyright © 2025 Merit Pages, Inc. • All Rights Reserved. • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Opt Out